Front Suspension Collapsed

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Sep 16, 2011 | 06:38 PM

Alfa Fan

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From: Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey

'07 CLK 350 Coupe, '03 E500 Sport;'02 E320 4Matic; ,08 Jaguar XJ; 10 E350 '65 Alfa Giulia Sprint GT

Front Suspension Collapsed

Well, after 110k miles and rust on every panel it finally happened. The front suspension collapsed. I limped to my friend's shop and he put it on the lift and said that the arm that the front left spring attached to rusted away and broke off.
I called MB Roadside Assistance to have it taken to the dealership for evaluation but they said that it isn't covered anymore. I remember when I bought it they said that Roadside Assistance is covered for the life of the vehicle. They changed the rules in the middle of the game. That said, I'm not towing it to the dealership for evaluation and have to pay for it.
My friend does general repairs so he can't fix it and I wanted to know what is entailed and if there is a site where there is a picture of the suspension so that I can show it to some body shops.
Any info would be appreciated.

Sep 16, 2011 | 08:07 PM

Alfa Fan

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From: Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey

'07 CLK 350 Coupe, '03 E500 Sport;'02 E320 4Matic; ,08 Jaguar XJ; 10 E350 '65 Alfa Giulia Sprint GT

Adendum

I think it is the spring perch that is rusted away. Does anyone know what is entailed with this replacement? And how much it costs to repair?

Sep 17, 2011 | 12:14 AM

raymond g-

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From: Seattle WA

99 E320

some pics posted last week here and here

but you may want to use the SEARCH feature on this forum, over on
Benzworld.org and also Peachparts.com's Tech Forum as this ailment has been
long feared and documented by many.

In the USA there is no entitlement other than to appeal to the dealership based
on their goodwill, e.g. you're a longtime, valued customer. in Canada, they are
likely to have this covered under warranty up there

Sep 17, 2011 | 02:02 PM

Hirnbeiss

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From: Südflorida

'99 E430, '05 ML500, '15 GLK350

There is a spring perch repair kit. I would start at the dealer, just call to get their quote for repairing it and then go shop around at body shops. Most important thing will be to have some good sealing done after the repair to prevent corrosion.

Sep 18, 2011 | 08:34 PM

Alfa Fan

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From: Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey

'07 CLK 350 Coupe, '03 E500 Sport;'02 E320 4Matic; ,08 Jaguar XJ; 10 E350 '65 Alfa Giulia Sprint GT

Thanks for the replies. I did a lot of searching on the internet and that advice is well taken. I'll see how far I can get with the dealer otherwise I'll shop around for a shop to repair this. Many on this forum also rivet them into place so I'll inquire about that too. I know they need to be sealed well afterwards (too bad MB didn't think to do that when new). Thanks for all your input.

Sep 30, 2011 | 01:10 PM

Alfa Fan

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From: Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey

'07 CLK 350 Coupe, '03 E500 Sport;'02 E320 4Matic; ,08 Jaguar XJ; 10 E350 '65 Alfa Giulia Sprint GT

Can anyone give me an idea of how much the repair costs per side? The dealer quoted $1700-2000!

Apr 8, 2014 | 02:18 PM

AAlfarah

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W211 E500 2003

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Last edited by AAlfarah; Apr 9, 2014 at 07:43 PM.